A Call to Building Resilient Medical Education Systems in Africa, Now and Beyond Covid-19
Abstract:Certain factors have affected medical education significantly most recently. One is the rapidly evolving landscape of medical education, globally. This has created a spectrum of impacts on not just how medical education is being delivered but, on the definitions, and characterizations of competencies required of trained medical practitioners across the globe. The second factor is the event of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has not only affected the methods of delivery of medical education but that has also affected resource allocations.
The impacts of these two factors have in most recent time created dynamics that will influence the quality of delivery of medical education in African institutions. Building resilient systems, therefore, becomes vital to sustainability. Resilience becomes associated with not just efforts to keep medical schools open and running but also the extent to which quality can be sustained, with quality prospects for continuous improvement so that Africa can leapfrog in the attempts to increase the quality of medical education. This will translate to improvements in the quality of delivery of care.
This commentary, therefore, considers three major themes that stakeholders must focus on in their efforts to build resilient medical education systems that can withstand the impact of the two main forces that are largely responsible for the current dynamics. The first theme centers on pedagogy and assessment. The second theme emphasizes infrastructure and resources. The third theme considers critically institutional philosophy, the cultures of teaching and learning, and the need to critically rethink medical education on the continent.
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